


The End

by chikauedas



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Gen, M/M, Post-Game(s), and some minor for Persona Q, spoilers for persona 3, weirdly sweet for these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 15:32:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18013523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chikauedas/pseuds/chikauedas
Summary: Set just after Takaya collapses in Tartarus - some small musings on the nature of bonds





	The End

> _ Death is imminent... Surely you know this... What do you hope to accomplish now? I wanted to see the end with my own eyes... Jin… _ _   
>    
>  _

Takaya, already on the ground, closed his eyes expecting to be greeted with the usual darkness, but instead he found himself bathed in a bright light.   
  
“You called?”   
Takaya looked up, shielding his eyes from the glare - a familiar silhouette stood with an outstretched hand at the top of a small staircase made of a material that was also blindingly white.   
  
“Jin?” Takaya pushed himself up with unusual ease - there was not a hint of shaking, not even the mere suggestion of spasms, and the deep persistent ache in his bones was just... gone.  _ How curious _ , he thought. He cautiously approached his comrade - able to see his features now. Yes it was Jin alright - he looked  _ good _ , oddly good for someone who had just come from a fight in fact.    
“I thought SEES had destroyed you,” he said, showing just the smallest sliver of excitement despite himself and taking Jin’s outstretched hand. Takaya’s mind felt sharper than it had since - he couldn’t even remember when. It was though the sleepy fog had been lifted and he was seeing clearly for the first time in ages. About five steps below Jin, he was able to meet his partner’s eyes perfectly. This was the least tired and bloodshot he’d seen them in quite some time - they really were quite a nice blue when all was said and done, he thought to himself, _ like lapis lazuli _ \- but he was getting sidetracked.   
  
“You know I would never give those bastards the satisfaction,” Jin smirked, before turning to a solemn expression “I’d rather destroy myself, and go on my own terms.”   
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” Takaya smiled his crooked cat smile “For all my talk, I realised that seeing the end without you by my side just wouldn’t be the same. I suppose that makes me some kind of loathsome hypocrite. So much for not forming attachments - I can’t even follow my own advice.”   
“I think that just makes you human,” Jin smiled back, before sighing heavily “I’m sorry we didn’t make it to see the end. I feel like I’ve failed you and your dream.”   
“Whatever do you mean?” Takaya asked, confused “You’re here with me now, aren’t you?”   
  
“Takaya…” Jin looked away, somewhat pained. Takaya followed his line of sight over to a strange figure that he swore wasn’t there a minute ago. A towering, dark-skinned man in a black cowl stood watching them - he seemed to be floating just an inch above the ground. He spoke - no, it was more like the words arrived directly in their heads.    
  


**COME, WEARY ONE - FOR WIT THOU WELL, THE TIDE ABIDETH NO MAN, AS WELL YOU BOTH KNOW. THE HOUR YOU HAVE LONG AWAITED IS UPON US.**   
  
““Oh.” Takaya said softly, golden eyes widening. Something within him already knew the figure - the part that knew of Hypnos, of Moros and of Nyx. **_Chronos._ **   
“Yeah…” Jin answered, gripping his hand just a little tighter.   
“And you’re here with me?” Takaya had honestly never dared to dream of any afterlife, let alone one where he wasn’t completely alone. He just assumed it’d be lights out, done. In fact, he’d been steeling himself for it for so long, he was somewhat at a loss for what to do now. He looked to Jin, who gave off a hint of uncertainty, of nervousness but was determined to stay resolute.    
  
“My life is yours - I told you that,” he said, unblinkingly meeting Takaya’s gaze “I said I’d follow you to hell and back, and I intend to keep good on my word.”   
“Jin…” Takaya gripped the blue-haired boy’s shoulders tightly.   
“You were there for me when no one else was,” Jin said, as though this served as some sort of explanation for all of this.   
“So were you,” Takaya smiled “I didn’t want you to come too close, to avoid the pain of loss but... you were there regardless, ever my most ardent supporter. The pain of your absence was felt most acutely.” He laughed bitterly “What a fool I was.”   
  
**THE NIGHT IS DARK AND THE ROAD IS LONG - IT IS A FINE THING TO HAVE ONE TO WALK THIS PATH WITH YOU. OF LATE, I HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND SOME SMALL PART OF THIS. THE HUMAN CONCEPT OF DEVOTION.**

  
Takaya and Jin looked to Chronos as he spoke, then back at one another.   
“Then let  _ me  _ support  **you** ,” Takaya smiled, lifting Jin down off the steps with remarkable ease “And I won’t let you be lost this time.”   
“We’ll support eachother.” Jin nodded earnestly, taking Takaya’s hand once more as they stood to face Chronos. The hooded figure gestured, and some of the blinding white light faded momentarily - revealing some highly elaborate gates - what was on the other side remained a mystery.    
  
They stepped forward into the unknown: free at last from the ominous countdown clock (and Personas that constantly a whisper’s breath away from attempting to kill them, and the harmful effects of the suppressants) they wondered what sort of journey lay ahead for the first time in a long time, and what kind of people they would become along the way.


End file.
